Yoga, Chronic Pain Have Opposite Effects on Gray Matter

Chronic pain is known to cause brain anatomy abnormalities, but yoga can be a successful tool in the prevention or even the reversing of these effects on the brain, according to a National Institutes of Health (NIH) official speaking at the American Pain Society’s annual meeting.

“Imaging studies in multiple types of chronic pain patients show their brains differ from healthy control subjects,” said M. Catherine Bushnell, Ph.D., scientific director, Division of Intramural Research, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).